By Matthew Ramon
This architectural render created by teamMADE emphasizes our unique roof system that reflects our project’s themes of sustainability and healing.
Introducing the Performance Shell
If you have been following us on social media, you’ll have seen that teamMADE is beginning construction on our ADU. As such, teamMADE wants to keep you informed about the engineering and architectural systems that are about to come to life through our construction team. First, let’s discuss one of the most eye-catching features of the project: teamMADE’s Performance Shell. The shell, or roof component, of our ADU can be divided into two parts: the main “butterfly” roof itself and the shade structure that hangs off of the side of the building. Both parts combined offer significant benefits.
What are the Benefits of the Butterfly Roof?
Butterfly roofs are most easily identified by their distinctive V-shape that resemble the general outline of butterfly wings. Historically, the roof shape was first popularized by architect William Krisel, who introduced the roof to Southern California in the 1950s. In fact, butterfly roofs came to be commonplace in many post-war homes as part of a broader push to modernize the classic American home by mid-Twentieth Century architects. And while not as widespread today, the style remains a popular feature of Hawaiian home construction. Apart from the aesthetic appeal of the organic, modern shape, the roof also comes with many technical benefits that are well-suited to both Hawaii’s and Southern California’s climates and environments.
Notice the butterfly roof’s distinctive V-shape that is formed by the roof sloping upwards towards the walls. The shape is reminiscent of the inverted triangle roof, or gable, that comes to mind when imagining the typical home.
But what exactly are the benefits of this roofing system over the traditional gable roof? For starters, consider the water-saving benefits offered by this roof system. By sloping inwards, the roof sends water into a central gutter that can then direct rainwater to a collection tank, allowing homeowners to save the water for later. In California’s drought environment, the need to make efficient use of whatever water is afforded to us is paramount. Not to mention the beneficial interaction it could have with your native garden. Who knows, if it unfortunately rains at the OC Fairgrounds during the Sustainability Decathlon in October, you may have the chance to witness this in action.
Furthermore, this inward sloping grants homes the ability to have much taller walls. And taller walls mean more space for larger windows, allowing more natural light to enter your home. Consequently letting in more natural light for vitamin D and less time with the lights on. Also, consider the ventilation benefits of having more or larger windows available. Combined with SoCal’s Mediterranean climate, that could mean less time with the fan or air conditioning on. And all of this combined means greater energy savings, more money in your pocket.
Lastly, the shape of the roof allows for maximum space for solar panels for energy production. With a traditional roof system, only one side of the roof is receiving maximum sunlight at any given time, thereby lowering the panels’ effectiveness as the day progresses. However, as seen in teamMADE’s sunlight analysis above, the butterfly roofing system maximizes the amount of sun exposure that is experienced by any given part of the roof. For homeowners looking to make the most of their solar panels, the butterfly roof can meet their needs.
While there are of course some downsides to butterfly roofs, they are mostly irrelevant to our project and site conditions. For example, these roofs can’t handle heavy loads from rain and snow. However, since our project’s site locations are in Orange County, these adverse weather conditions aren’t going to have any major impact on our ADU’s performance. And any other negatives can be screened out through other engineering decisions. Lowered ability to control consistent temperatures can be managed with the insulation and Heating, Ventilation, and Air Conditioning (HVAC) systems that teamMADE plans to use. While butterfly roofs usually come with higher costs for both installation and maintenance, teamMADE’s use of FrameCAD and other easily purchased materials are going to help mitigate that. Regardless, the team found that the benefits offered to us greatly outweigh any potential negatives.
Why the Shade Structure?
By now you might be curious about the overhanging screen that connects to the rest of the roof. This standout feature provides not only a unique architectural look to our ADU that will ensure it stands out from the competition, but also helps regulate temperatures within and outside of the home.
For instance, one negative of having too many windows is that glass is worse at insulation compared to all the materials that make up a wall. As a result, heat can more easily enter or leave the home, which is not ideal when it comes to making a low-energy passive home. Constantly shifting temperatures means that air conditioning or heating needs to do more work to keep temperatures at a comfortable level. That means more power usage. A constant temperature helps to avoid this as the HVAC system now needs to only make very minor adjustments.
That’s where the shade screen comes in. As the name suggests, it helps to shade a portion of the home, minimizing the amount of direct sunlight and heat it would be facing otherwise. As seen on the thermal analysis above, the screen combined with the roof helps to keep temperatures down around the home’s entrance.
That doesn’t mean that the front of the home is encased in darkness. An abstract gradient of perforated holes resembling a turtle shell is designed into the screen, diffusing sunlight and creating beautiful patterns that change over the course of the day while still allowing nice views from the window. The screen also provides the added benefit of privacy for the home’s residents. This is especially important for our ADU’s bedroom module, which is placed at the front of the home. teamMADE is certain that the extra privacy is going to be a huge source of appreciation from our client. We are lucky to be partnering with the absolute experts on the screen. Arktura has generously provided design assist services in fabricating our custom shade screen that will also serve as a growing surface for a greenwall
For teamMADE, all of these benefits are critical for delivering an ADU that meets the needs of the Decathlon and our client.
Concluding Remarks
We’ve given some insight into the more technical aspects of the design, but we also wanted to discuss some of the artistic philosophies that led to the Performance Shell’s creation. In teamMADE’s eyes, part of sustainability comes from our ability to live in harmony with nature. And as Joseph Sarafian sees it, one of teamMADE’s architectural leads, designs should be inspired by natural forces, “form-finding instead of form-giving”, if you will. That’s part of why we feel that the organic shape of the roof inspired by butterflies makes perfect sense for our design. And how the shade wall overhang was inspired by the natural shape paper takes when folded. Even the gradient of the screen’s holes are meant to resemble the pattern on a turtle’s shell.
Speaking of turtles, turtles (and butterflies as a matter of fact) represent an important theme of our project, especially while thinking about our client: healing and the ability to transform into something greater. As I’m sure you’re well aware, teamMADE is building this ADU in partnership with HIS-OC, Homeless Intervention Services-Orange County. Tragically, there are those in the homeless community who may have had a history of trauma. Resultantly, some might be more closed-off than others. teamMADE wants to provide their clients with a healing home, making sure they know that it’s okay to spend time in a protective space but that whenever they are ready, they can always come out of their shell.